Guide To Christmas

1.

Guide
To Christmas

2.

ABOUT XMAS…
•Do you like Christmas? Why/Why Not?
•How do you celebrate Christmas in your country?
•Does your family have any traditions?
•What days are celebrated the most in your
country?
•Who brings the presents in your country?

3.

Christmas is the time of year
when many families get
together. It is a time for eating,
drinking and relaxing. Families,
who haven’t seen each other in
months, meet up and spend
time together. So what are the
typical traditions and foods that
we have at Christmas?

4.

Decorations
Christmas is the time of year when people
decorate their houses and local forms of
government decorate the streets. So what are
the typical Christmas decorations?

5.

The Nativity Scene
Mostly displayed in Churches and some public
places. Not as popular as it used to be but still most
Christians still put up a crib in their houses for
Christmas.
Do you put up a crib in your house?

6.

Christmas Tree
The exact origin of the Christmas tree is not
known but it is believed to come from Northern
Europe and some of the first records of
Christmas trees appear in the 15th Century.
Since then they have become common in homes
and public places. Some families even have
two, one in the garden, one in the house. People
put all types of decoration on the trees,
including lights, balls, tinsel and popcorn. Yes,
popcorn! In the US some families make
decoration for trees with popcorn.
What about you? Do you have a tree and do you
decorate it?

7.

Other Decorations
Holly is hung in
homes. It is a symbol
for truth.
Mistletoe is also hung up in houses
and traditionally over doorways. If
you meet someone under the
doorway, tradition says you must kiss
Christmas lights are hung around
houses. Some people spend hundreds of
Euros decorating the outside of their
houses and in some places they hold an
annual competition.

8.

Food
A huge part of Christmas is Food. It’s a time to
pile on the pounds! What food do you
traditionally eat at Christmas?

9.

Typical Christmas Food & Desserts
Turkey & Ham but in the US some people prefer
goose at Christmas.
Roast Potatoes and Gravy.
Vegetables such as carrots, turnips, broccoli
and Brussels sprouts.
Cranberry Sauce is traditionally served with
turkey and ham.
There are many different types of dessert but
possibly the most famous is Christmas pudding. It
can be made 4 months before Christmas.
Normally served with custard or whipped cream.

10.

Christmas Lunch
Christmas Lunch is the most important meal over Christmas.
Not only is the food important but so too is the decoration on the
table. Most tables have a holiday themed centre-piece in the middle.
Apart from cutlery and napkins, diners also have a Christmas cracker
which is pulled during lunch. Inside each cracker there
is a hat, a few jokes and a gift. The quality of the
gift depends on the cracker but some people have
paid up to €6m for just six crackers. The prizes in
those crackers included yachts, cars and expensive
jewellery.

11.

Music
One important Christmas tradition is Music.
Whether it be traditional Christmas carols,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDNRZHynmvw,
children’s Christmas songs,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0byH9h1ClBY,
or the charts. Each year in the UK there is a
lot of competition to be the Christmas No.1 in
the charts. There are plenty of Christmas
songs but the most famous has to be White
Christmas by Bing Crosby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJSUT8Inl14
What about you? Are there any traditional
carols or songs in your country?

12.

Television
With lunch over, presents opened, it is now time to put your feet
up and watch some TV. Most programmes have a Christmas
special but what really gets the ratings on Christmas Day are the
Soap Operas!!!
Britain is home to some of the longest
running soap operas in the world and at
Christmas they usually contain major
plotlines to keep people watching.
Normally they last an hour and the shows
are aired in two parts. Up to 16m can watch
them on Christmas Day.
Do you have anything similar in your
country?

13.

Television
Another important event on TV every
Christmas is the Queen’s speech which is
aired at 3pm on Christmas Day. The
broadcast normally lasts 5 minutes and in it
the Queen reflects on the previous 12
months of the year. Although it is mainly
watched by those in the UK, it is also
viewed around the world.
An alternative to the Queen’s speech is
broadcast on Channel 4 at the same time.
This has been happening since 1993. It
normally is a message with humour but
sometimes it can have a serious tone. People who have made
the speech include Marge & Lisa Simpson and Edward Snowdon.

14.

Literature
There are hundreds of stories and
poems written about Christmas
but probably the most famous is
a Christmas Carol by Charles
Dickens.
It is a story about a miserly old man,
Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by three
ghosts on Christmas Eve and his life is
changed forever. There are countless films
with the same title. If some wants to say
their boss is tight, they call him ‘A
Scrooge’.

15.

Other Christmas Traditions
Christmas cards are a very important
part of Christmas. It may seem silly
but each year over €1bn worth of
Christmas cards are bought and sold.
Secret Santa originally started in
offices but with the recession more
and more families have decided to do
it to help keep costs down.
And what about you? What traditions to you have?

16.

Important Christmas Dates
There are 12 days of
Christmas, so the song
says, but not all the days
are the same. So which are
the important ones?
The weekend before Christmas is always the busiest for shops.
Christmas Eve is the time for last minute shopping and
midnight mass is traditional.
Christmas Day is a day for family. In Ireland, bars and
restaurants are closed.

17.

After Christmas Day
The 26th of December is Boxing Day in the UK and St.
Stephen’s Day in Ireland. It is a day when people go out
and meet friends. It is also when the ‘sales’ officially
start.
While the rest of the days are not public holidays,
many people take annual leave so they can spend time
with loved ones and visit friends.
New Year’s Eve is a night normally spent with friends.
Before, most people went out but since the millennium
more and more people are having house parties.
New Year’s Day normally sees people meeting with
family for lunch to welcome in the New Year.

18.

Hogmanay
Possibly the biggest
New Year’s party in
the UK is in
Edinburgh on the
31st of December
when Scottish
people celebrate
Hogmanay.
The city of Edinburgh have concerts and fireworks to say
goodbye to the old year and hello to the new one. It has
become tradition to sing the poem, Auld Lang Syne, by Robert
Burns. The poem was originally in Scots but has been
translated into many languages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rId95N2teUc

19.

Resolutions
So the New Year has started and so too
has the final Christmas tradition: The
New Year’s resolution. Each year
people promise to do different things
in order to improve their lives. Very
often they give up before February.
Do you have New Year’s resolutions?
If you were to make one, what would
it be?

20.

Father Christmas
It is often said that Santa Claus wears red
after a Coca Cola campaign changed his
traditional green suit to red. This is not
true! Coca-Cola’s 1931 advert was the first
major advertisement to appear in many
countries and so many people attribute the
change in colour to the beverage company.
But Santa was wearing red long before
that.
In saying that, Coca-Cola did help in changing the appearance of Santa into a
much more appealing character. Santa had been depicted as an elf, an old man
with a hunch and a priest. In 1931 Coca-Cola launched their famous campaign
and since then, the jolly, plump St Nick that we have all come to know and
love has been used on everything. So in a way they did change Santa Claus.

21.

Also remember! He sees you when you are sleeping and
knows when your awake. He is making a list and checking
it twice and is going to find out who is naughty and nice.
Boys and Girls. Santa Claus is coming to town.
Nollaig Shona!